In many cases, construction of a wall of a building includes a backup wall made up of numerous cinder or concrete blocks, otherwise known as, Concrete Masonry Units (CMU) placed next to each other in rows, with multiple rows placed on top of each other. These CMU are connected to each other using mortar. A veneer wall is then built in front of the backup wall with a space or cavity between the two walls. The veneer wall may be, for example, made up of bricks.
In order to increase the strength of the walls, wire joint reinforcement is inserted between the rows of CMU during the mortar process, such that the wire joint reinforcement is placed in the mortar joint between the CMU. According to code, wire reinforcement may be placed on top of every row, or every other row. Depending on the configuration the wire reinforcement can be installed in the backup and the pintle ties slipped into the clip and built into the veneer so the two walls can be built together. By connecting the two walls, the wire reinforcement can establish a positive lateral load connection between the veneer wall and the backup wall.
Further, the space between the backup wall and the veneer wall may have insulation, often a rigid wall insulation, between the two walls. The system for attaching the backup wall to the veneer wall must take this insulation into account, including the possibility that the insulation will require an opening to allow the wire reinforcement to pass through from the backup wall to the veneer wall.
One of the disadvantages of this construction process is that when the veneer wall is built, the rows and joints of the two different walls are not necessarily aligned in the vertical direction. As such, the wire joint reinforcement in the backup wall must be adjusted or adjustable to allow for the vertical difference in the joints or rows of the veneer wall. One way to overcome this problem, is to use a “pintle and eye” system in which the wire reinforcement consists of wire eyes that extend out past the CMU and past the insulation, such that a pintle tie can be placed into the eye of the wire reinforcement and adjusted vertically to “meet” the height of the veneer wall. In addition, current masonry codes require cavity walls with a CMU backup and brick veneer to have two-piece adjustable anchors that allow vertical deflection between the two parts. This type of wire reinforcement can be utilized with either a ladder or truss type wire reinforcement system.
However, there are a number of different size wire reinforcement for the different CMU thicknesses and different sized wire gauges. Further, there are different materials or coatings that can be used for each of the different sizes, and there is a necessity to provide various eye lengths to compensate for the different thickness of insulation. With the varying size wires and thicknesses, there will be many different sized products that can be generated for different projects, making it extremely difficult and unnecessarily expensive to budget for inventory purposes.
Another concern with the pintle and eye products on the market today is that the veneer wall, which may be subjected to outdoor elements such as heat or cold, will transmit the heat or cold through the metal pintle and eye product to the backup wall, which will then be more easily transmitted to the inside of the structure. There is no thermal break to minimize this unwanted thermal flow from the outside of the structure to the inside.
Yet another shortcoming of the current pintle and eye products for masonry wall wire reinforcement occurs when the product is shipped. With the current configuration, i.e., the ladder or truss type with the eye portion extending outward, the eye portion may become damaged during shipping. Avoiding damage to the eye portion forces extra amount of care or better packaging when shipping the product.
Thus, there is a long felt need in the field of masonry wall wire reinforcement for a more cost-effective reinforcement system that can reduce the need for many of the parts in one's inventory and also serve as a thermal break to reduce the thermal transfer or flow of energy from the outside to the inside of a structure. There is also a need to reduce cost and limit damage exposure of the product during shipping. The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages relating to masonry wall reinforcement systems.